Seal construction for movable parts



Marh 9, 1954 O A. l.. HIGBIE 2,671,407

` SEAL CONSTRUCTION FOR MOVABLE PARTS Filed Feb. 21, 194e. 2 ,sham-sheet 1 i l l INVENTOR. l f' /7/1 y I v BY v M MM March 9, 1954 A 1 H|GB|E y 2,671,407

SEAL CONSTRUCTION Foa MovABLE PARTS Filed Feb. 21, 1948 -2 Sheng-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. E- 4- /QZdrr z'e.

Patented Mar. 9, 1954 SEAL CONSTRUCTION FOR MOVABLE PARTS' Alan L. Higbie, Walled Lake, Mich., assignor to Chrysler Corporation, Highland Park, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application February 21, 1948, Serial No. 10,075

3 Claims. (Cl. 10S-111) This application relates to a seal construction. More specifically, it relates to a seal between relatively moving parts.

Seals are employed between relatively moving parts to prevent escape of lubricant from the parts or of uid handled by the parts. It is desirable to keep the leak paths at a minimum, and I have invented an arrangement of seal and relatively moving parts by which this is accomplished. It is important that the sealing arrangement be such that the pressures of the fluid handled or of the lubricant will not cause the leak paths to be opened up. This also is accomplished by the sealing arrangement of the present invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing the application of my novel sealing arrangement to a pump;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the structure of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing a modified sealing arrangement of my invention applied to a pump;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the structure of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing a. second modification of my invention.

The reference character I designates a pump housing to which an end member I2 is attached by screws I3 and nuts I4. The end member has spaced bearing portions I and I6, which support a rotating shaft Il. A pulley I8 is attached to one end of the shaft I'l by a screw I9. At the other end of the shaft Il is a pump impeller having a plurality of blades 2I. The impeller 20 is formed with a central opening receiving one end of the shaft Ii. Tongues 22 projecting inwardly forward one another from opposite sides of the opening in a groove of the central opening, lie in a groove 23 formed in the end ofthe shaft l1 and serve to key the impeller to the shaft. A washer 24 and a screw 25 threaded in the end of the shaft serve to retain the impeller 20 upon the shaft.

Adjacent the impeller end of the shaft il is a stepped shoulder 26. The shoulder 25 may be formed as an integral part of the shaft ii or as a separate part. A thickened end 2l formed on a seal 28 is clamped between the impeller 20 and the shoulder 2t. The seal 28 may be formed of a suitable resilient material such as rubber and is shaped as an outwardly convex annulus. One end of the seal 2S is formed in a compound ange 29 within which is bonded a hard ring 30 suitable for sliding sealing engagement with the bearing portion Is of the end member I2. The ring 3G may be of any suitable material such as a phenolic resin. A coil spring BI is positioned withinthe seal 2E and around the shaft Il and acts between the shoulder 26 and the anged end 29 on the seal 28 to maintain the ring 3d in contact with the bearing portion I6, As previously stated, the enlarged end 2l of the seal 28 is clamped between the impeller 2 0 and the shoulder 25. This clamping action is entirely independent of the spring 3|. l

It will be observed that in the present construction the the leak paths for iiuid handled by the impeller 2t have been reduced to one. This path is between the bearing portion I5 and the hard sealing ring 30 at the one end of the seal 28. There is no leak path at the flanged end 2l, for this end of the seal is firmly clamped between the shoulder 25 and the impeller 20 entirely independently of the coil springv 3|. Any fluid that nds its way into the annular seal 28 by way of the path between the ring 30 and the bearing portion i6 may escape by way of the annular groove iiIa and passage 32 formed in the bearing portion I 5 of the end member I2. Lubricant is supplied to the shaft I'I and the bearing portions I5 and I6 of the end member I2 by means of a tting 32e.

The shape of the seal 23 is such that variation in hydraulic pressure exerted externally onv the seal as it is in the other axial direction to the other side of the transverse plane.

Figs. 3 and 4 show a modified form of the seal` of the present invention. To a pump housing 3 3 is secured a cover plate t4 by screws35. A bearing sleeve 35 is press-fitted within av sleeve portion 3'! of the pump housing 33. A bearing sleeve 38, which may be formed of a suitable material such as oillite is secured by a' pin 39 in axial alignment with the sleeve 36. The sleeve .te has openings 40 and slots 4I for lubricant. A rotating shaft 42 is journalled in the sleeves 35 and 38 and carries a separately or integrally formed collar 43. A pump impeller 44 is secured to one end or" the shaft 42 by means of a pin 45. A hub member 46 is secured to the other end of the shaft 2 by a pin 41, and a driving pulley 48 is secured by screws 49 to the hub member 46.

A seal 50 of annular form surrounds the shaft 42 and extends into a recess 5I formed in the pump impeller 44. The seal 50 has a body portion 52 of corrugated shape, one end formed as an outwardly extending flange 53 enlarged at its outer end, as indicated at 54, and the other end formed as a compound flange 55 within which is bonded a, relatively hard ring 56. This ring may be formed of a suitable material such as a phenolic resin so as to be suited for sliding sealing engagement with the end of the sleeve portion 31 of the pump housing 33. The iiange 53 on the annular seal 50 is clamped against the pump impeller 44 by means of a retainer 55a having one end snapped into an annular groove 51 formed in the recess in the impeller 44. The retainer 5 6 has a plurality of slots 58, only one of which is to be seen in Fig. 4. A coil spring 59 surrounds the body portion 52 of the engine seal 50 and acts between the retainer 56a and the compound end flange 55 on the seal 50 to urge the sealing ring 56 against the sleeve portion 31 of the pump housing 33. There is only one leak path for uid handled by the pump impeller 44 and that lies between the sealing ring 56 and the sealing portion 31. There is no leak path at the end of the seal 50 opposite that at which the sealing ring 56 is attached, because the end iiange 53 on the seal 50 if rmly clamped against the pump impeller 44 by the retainer 56H. This clamping is entirely independent of any action by the coil spring 59, which serves only to urge the sealing ring 56 against the sleeve portion 31.

Suitable lubricant may be supplied to the bearing sleeves 36 and 38 in the pump housing 33 by way of the fitting 59. Movement of the shaft 42 to the right is limited by engagement of the shoulder 43 with the left end of the bearing sleeve 38. Movement of the shaft 42 to the left is limited by. engagement of the hub member 45 with the right end of the bearing sleeve 38.

Fig. 5 shows a modification that bears some similarity to that of Figs. 3 and 4 but diiers in that a snap-in member 60 does not extend radially inwards sufficiently to be engaged by the coil spring 59. edge lodged in the groove 51 in the recess 5I in the pump impeller 44 and clamps the enlarged portion 54 of the seal iiange 53 against the impeller 44. Thus not only is the clamping action of the snap-in member 51 on the seal iiange 53,

but also the snap-in member is completely free of the coil spring in that there is no contact between them.

I claim:

1. In combination, a housing, a shaft projecting into the housing, an annulus surrounding the shaft and having ends spaced from one another axially of the shaft, an impeller secured to an end of the shaft in the housing, means carried by the impeller clamping one end of the annulus against the impeller in sealing engagement therewith, and a spring surrounding the annulus and engaged between the clamping means and the other end of the annulus and urging the said other end The snap-in member 60 has an outer L of the annulus against the housing in sliding sealing engagement therewith.

2. In combination, a housing, a shaft projecting into the housing, an impeller secured to an end of the shaft in the housing and having a portion spaced outwardly and being shaped so as to form with the shaft an annular recess surrounding the shaft, an annulus with axially spaced ends surrounding the shaft and extending into the recess, a member retained by the impeller within the recess and clamping an end of the annulus in the direction of the axis of rotation oi said shaft to the impeller within the recess in sealing engagement with the impeller, and a spring surrounding the annulus and acting between the member and the other end of the annulus to urge the said other end of the annulus against the housing in sealing engagement therewith, the member clamping the annulus against the impeller independently of the spring.

3. In combination, a housing, a shaft projecting into the housing, an impeller secured to an end of the shaft in the housing and having radial and cylindrical portions forming with the shaft an annular recess surrounding the shaft, an annulus extending along the shaft into the recess in surrounding relation with the shaft and having an outwardly extending end engaging the said radial portion of the impeller, a member engaging the cylindrical portion of the impeller recess and clamping the outwardly extending end of the annulus against the radial portion of the impeller recess in sealing engagement therewith, a spring surrounding the annulus and acting between the member and the other end of the annulus to urge the said other end of the annulus against the housing in sliding sealing engagement therewith, the member functioning independently of the spring to clamp the outwardly extending end of the yannulus against the impeller.

ALAN L. HIGBIE.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,802,813 Greenwald Apr. 28, 1931 1,820,100 Thompson Aug. 25, 1931 1,931,723 Fageol et al Oct. 24, 1933 1,945,825 Saxe Feb. 6, 1934 2,027,505 Winkler Jan. 14, 1936 2,044,957 Strebler June 23, 1936 2,167,986 Lignian Aug. 1, 1939 2,291,954 Dupree Aug. 4, 1942 2,395,095 Brady Feb. 19, 1946 2,408,909 Brummer Oct. 8, 1946 2,499,353 Brummer Mar. 7, 1950 2,512,749 McCloskey June 27, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 516,263 Germany Jan. 21, 1931 566,441 Great Britain Dec. 29, 1944 

